Their time and our time, our lives and their lives, our world and their world, these are widely used terms that often constitute a major obstacle in our efforts to raise our children.

Were they created for our time or for a time of their own? Do we want them to live our lives or their own? Is there a difference between our world and theirs? Many questions haunt parents while attempting to raise their children, answers of which may vary between individuals based on their way of thinking in addition to their backgrounds.

Each one of us possesses different motives and reasoning for adopting a particular form of upbringing for our children, the problem does not lay in our choices in this regard, but rather in the association we draw between our children's upbringing and what we were deprived of in early years of our lives.We lay much emphasis on ensuring that we provide our children with everything we were deprived of, not taking into account the fact that their time presents different challenges then ours.

A person who had to deal with financial challenges during his upbringing may find  himself in a race to provide his children with large amounts of money and materialistic objects, sometimes to extents that are deemed unreasonable, disregarding negative impacts of such conduct  on the children. Another who perhaps experienced a troubled life would be focused on providing unbounded love and affection to his children, thereby creating people who are unequipped to handle the smallest of problems.

By: Fadheela Hammad

People need to make decisions continuously, and in different life situations, which usually manifests in our behaviors, words we use, and the work we do. These decisions might be right, and might be wrong, and what helps in the decision making is the thinking process, which helps in making better decisions, and having positive consequences, while poor thinking process can result in negative consequences.

The process of decision-making and thinking about the different aspects and consequences that may result, is an important skill that can be developed like any other skill, and particularly in children who need this important skill even though it looks that the decisions they make is less important than that of adults. When the children get trained on making decisions in their childhood, their ability to make better decision evolves, and develops as they grow up. Children face difficulties and challenges even when playing, through which they make different decisions, but they may not realize that these small things are also decisions that have consequences affecting them and their relationships with others

By: Fadheela Hammad

She saw a timid and reluctant look on her nephew's face that morning, following a fun slumber party her younger son threw the both of them. Salem was hesitant as he watched his cousin prepare a sandwich for breakfast. She asked him if something was wrong. "Not at all" he answered, trying to imitate his cousin in preparing a similar meal. He was not accustomed to that, and kept asking himself why is his cousin preparing his food in the presence of his mother?!

Parents must make every effort to develop self-reliance as a basic skill within their children. This could be achieved through a number of ways, for instance, children could be encouraged to contribute to small chores that are consistent with their age and level of maturity. Further, children can be requested to assume responsibility of smile tasks like tidying their rooms, their closets, their school bags or preparing simple meals for themselves.

By: Dr. Soroor Qarooni

A "question" is among the most important elements of human communication. Through questions; people interact, transfer knowledge and arrive at common perceptions. Questions play a fundamental role in the process of requesting information and exchanging them. This equally applies to children and adolescents. However, it is essential to mention that this process also represents a platform for learning, verifying and rooting information, in addition to forming a child's belief system, his self-image and his perception of others. This can be most effectively done when parents and children are engaged in a regular exchange of questions, as this process contributes to the establishment of various concepts in the minds and hearts of the children. This is not to be mistaken for a simple process of exchanging information, but rather, a practice that plants trust, boosts personalities and enhances relationships.

This episode addresses the effects of bullying on the bully and discusses ways to help him stop bullying.

What are the effects of bullying on the bully?

The adverse effects of bullying on the bully are not less than those experienced by victims of bullies. The bully establishes a pattern through which he interacts with others, if such a flawed pattern is not modified or adjusted, the child may continue to apply it in his future relationships. The longer such pattern persists, the deeper it is entrenched within the child's personality. The following points demonstrate the adverse effects experienced by bullies:

In the previous episodes we discussed the meaning of bullying, attempted to identify children most vulnerable to bullying, and outlined what can be done to help him. This episode will discuss children engaged in bullying and hurting their peers.

Who is a bully?

There are signs through which bullies can be identified. However, it is unsound to judge a child solely based on such signs. It should be kept in mind that wrongly labeling a child "bully" and acting accordingly will inevitably affect him adversely. This scenario is similar to wrongly diagnosing an illness and prescribing unfitting medications, thus actually causing one. A bully generally.

As a continuation to the preceding episodes; the "Be-Free" continues to answer questions submitted by parents and children on the topic of bullying.

Episode 3: Identifying and providing help to children most vulnerable to bullying

Who are the children most vulnerable to bullying?

A child may be exposed to bullying for no evident reason. However, there are specific factors that can affect his personality and render him more vulnerable to bullying. It is important to note that the presence of one or more of the outlined factors does not necessarily expose the child to bullying

As a continuation to the previous episode; The "Be-Free" continues to address questions sent by children and parents on the topic of bullying.

Episode 2: The impacts and effects of bullying

• What impacts does bullying have on children? Is it a serious matter?

Bullying is a topic to be taken seriously due to its considerable and deep impact on most children, especially those exposed to bullying without receiving help or support. Bullying carries one or more of the following effects on children: A child exposed to bullying may suffer a compromised self-esteem, view himself as unworthy of respect and unable to protect himself. Further, in case he was not surrounded by a circle of friends , he may begin to believe what he hears from the bully ; such a believe distorts his self-image deeply which may lead to depression. A child's compromised self-esteem may leave him vulnerable to other kinds of abuse, such a sexual abuse.

The "Be Free" centre receives a considerable amount of questions on various topics related to bullying from both children and parents every day. In an attempt to respond to some frequently asked question, a series of articles are published addressing this matter.

Episode I: Bullying Concepts

Children are often subjected to peer abuse at school or other social environments. Such abuse may be a result of a transitory conflict with other children or a result of exposure to bullying from peers. Bullying occurs when one child feels immobilized due to being humiliated or blackmailed by another child or group of children.

By: Dr. Rana AlSairafi

When the topic of child abuse is brought up, images of sexual or physical abuse come to mind. However, a different kind of abuse is present, one that can lay deep roots and affect the child's personality and his future; it is abuse through excess pampering.

It can come in different forms. The following are examples of such an abuse: Making all the materialistic demands available without setting limits to what a child is allowed to purchase, not setting regulations for the child in consistence with his age in order to introduce order to his life, not holding him accountable to mistakes he commits or not assigning him any responsibilities around the house (chores).

by: Dr. Rana Al-Sairafi

As revolutions and uprisings progress in numerous Arab countries, many find themselves occupied with closely following up on the current political events. As adults tune in to watch the news with all the emotions it communicates, they often overlook the effects such exposure has on their children who are constantly exposed to fear-provoking stories and details exchanged by adults around them.

Children are inclined to capture emotions alongside information, for instance; a child will pick up on the emotion experienced by a relative who is telling a story; whether it is fear, anxiety, happiness or any other. Children interpret feelings and store them; however; they do so from the viewpoint of a child which differs greatly from the viewpoint of an adult.

By: Dr. Soroor Qarooni

When she realized that she was pregnant with a child. She promised herself to give him everything she ever dreamed of, love, attention and care. She knows that her parents loved her.

But at the same time, it hurt her that they were unable to understand the challenges and the problems she was going through and the difficulties she used to endure when attempting to communicate her views on any one subject. It often appeared as though they were living in a different world from the one she was living in, as though the words she spoke were interpreted differently than what she intended for them to mean. Ahmed was born and she became a mother. She spent her days striving to build in him a strong confidant personality and reinforce the ties that connected them to each other. She managed to maintain a close relationship with her child until his early years in school, which was when the relationship started to gradually weaken. It reached its lowest point with Ahmed as an adolescent. She began to notice that she is living with her son Ahmed the same challenges that her parents lived with her. She came to realize that he was drifting away bit by bit and is openly stating or hinting for the same talks that she used to play in her mind over and over regarding the way her parents used to treat her.